Hydroponics – Jeff Fellers, Area Forestry and Wildlife Agent

September 1, 2021

     With the uncertainty of Covid in 2020, we decided to shut down the hydroponic system at the Union County Clemson Extension Office. This year as we settled into a more normal work week, we decided to start the hydroponic system back up. This system provides a great hands-on demonstration of three different hydroponic growing systems. We have ebb and flow beds, floating beds, and Dutch buckets. Ebb and flow beds fill and dump on a continuous basis using a mechanism known as a bell siphon. Floating beds have a raft that floats in a continuous water supply. While Dutch buckets have a continuous flow of water that filters through the bucket and growing medium.

This is about our ninth or tenth year operating the system and we have grown numerous vegetable crops, along with flowers in the system. We have also operated the system as both hydroponic system and an aquaponic system. An aquaponic system also incorporates fish in the system. The fish provide nutrients for the plants, and then the plants filter and clean the water for the fish.

This system will be open for viewing during the Union County Fair, but we also get many individual visits from people who are interested and want to see how it works. If you are interested in visiting the system, please let us know.